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Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he last met representatives of the Students with Disabilities Bureau ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend has not met representatives of the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities (SKILL). Officials in my Department, however, hold frequent meetings with
representatives of the bureau.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether his Department will undertake a survey to discover how much is spent by visually impaired further education and higher education students on (a) equipment, (b) training on usage of equipment, (c) cost of human assistance and (d) production and storage costs of materials in Braille, large print and tape.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend has no present plans to do so, but will keep the matter under review.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total amount spent on the disabled students' allowance.
Mr. Jackson : In 1987-88 local education authorities in England and Wales assessed disabled students allowances totalling some £158,000 within mandatory student awards.
Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of disabled students receive the disabled students' allowance.
Mr. Jackson : All disabled students in receipt of mandatory awards who by reason of disability incur additional expenditure in attending their courses are eligible for this allowance. Information is not collected centrally on disabled students not in receipt of mandatory awards.
ILEA
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he last met the leader of the Inner London education authority ; what issues were discussed ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend met the leader of the Inner London education authority in his capacity as chairman of the education committee of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities at a meeting of members and officers of local authorities on 26 October to discuss local authority spending on education in 1990-91. I met the leader of the authority on 27 September to discuss teacher shortages and early years provision in inner London.
Schools (Government Policy)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many letters he has received in the last three months, to date, from head teachers (a) in Bradford and (b) in the United Kingdom expressing concern at the impact of Government policy in their schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information is not available in the form requested. My right hon. Friend frequently receives correspondence from head teachers about various aspects of education provision.
Education Resources (Bradford)
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received asking him to make inquiries into whether resources made available by him to Bradford for education purposes have been transferred into infrastructure schemes related to the west end development ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Alan Howarth : None. It is for local authorities to decide how to use the level of resources available to them, in the light of local needs and circumstances. They are free to use the virement arrangements between authority services.
Grant-maintained Schools, Easington
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science which boards of school governors have expressed a wish to opt for grant-maintained status within the Easington constituency.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Department is not aware of any school governing body in the Easington constituency area which has expressed a wish to opt for grant-maintained status.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement about his Department's plans for expenditure on education and science over the next three years.
Mr. John MacGregor : As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his statement today, within the redefined public expenditure planning total the provision for the Department of Education and Science's programme in 1990-91 will be £6,589 million. This total is £876 million or 15.3 per cent. higher than the corresponding provision for 1989-90.
My Department's spending plans include : an increase of over £750 million over the next three years in resources available for higher education--excluding provision for student maintenance awards and the new top-up loans scheme--enabling a substantial increase in student numbers to be funded ;
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the addition of over £175 million over the next three years to the science budget, which will reach £897 million in 1990-91--an increase of 27 per cent. over the figure for 1988-89 ; and annual capital guidelines for local authority capital expenditure in 1990-91 of £485 million ; capital allocations for schools and colleges for 1989-90 totalled £352 million.Higher Education
The Government's plans allow for a significant increase in participation in higher education. The number of full-time and sandwich course students is now expected to increase by over 50,000 or just under 10 per cent., between 1988-89 and 1992-93, reflecting mainly the welcome increase in the numbers staying on in school after 16. Despite the declining trend in the number of 18-year-olds, the number of students in higher education is expected to rise throughout the next three years. This means that about one in five 18- year-olds will be entering higher education in 1992-93, compared with one in eight at the end of 1970s. The table sets out the projections of student numbers on which the new expenditure plans are based. To fund this expansion, the resources available for higher education will increase by over £750 million over the next three years, compared with previous plans. That addition will include : (a) increased provision for recurrent and capital expenditure. Compared with previous plans, the Government are providing some £330 million more over three years for recurrent and capital funding for higher education ;
(b) savings on rates expenditure : higher education institutions will benefit by over £230 million over the next three years from the change in the law on rates payments by charities ;
(c) provision for fees, at the full rate of £1,675 from the academic year 1990-91, for the higher number of full-time students now projected. The increase in fees provision for these extra students is some £190 million over three years.
Taking these components together, there will be an increase in available recurrent funds for higher education of 10 per cent. between 1989-90 and 1990-91.
Within the total of funds available, the balance between recurrent funding through the funding councils and payments made through tuition fees has been shifted, in accordance with the policy announced on 6 July. That adjustment relates only to previously planned student numbers and is financially neutral ; it simply switches resources from recurrent funding to fees.
Universities
The plans allow for an increase, excluding the fees for extra students, of over £135 million in recurrent and capital funding for the universities over the three years from 1990-91 to 1992-93. In addition, the universities will benefit from a saving on their rates bill estimated to total over £200 million for these three years and from extra income from tuition fees of £1,675 for every additional student enrolled beyond the Government's earlier plans.
After taking account of the shift of resources from recurrent funding to higher tuition fees in respect of students allowed for in the Government's earlier plans, the total available in 1990-91 to the Universities Funding Council for recurrent funding will be £1,685 million. As envisaged in earlier plans, this includes £52 million which will be earmarked for the restructuring programme. The
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plans also allow for other committed items such as the continuation of the extra funds made available this year for the 1989 clinical academic pay settlement.The plans should ensure the financial viability of the universities as student numbers increase, and should enable them to make significant progress in dealing with maintenance costs and to reach satisfactory pay settlements with their staffs. The Government intend, however, to hold back £20 million of the provision being made available to the Universities Funding Council in 1990-91 for release only in the event of a satisfactory pay settlement for academic staff which incorporates greater flexibility and differentiation. Capital funding for the universities has been increased by some £30 million over three years, mainly to allow for new equipment. In addition, the plans allow for an increase in grant to the Open university of £7 million in 1990-91 for capital and recurrent purposes.
Polytechnics and Colleges
The plans allow an increase, excluding the fees for extra students, of £195 million in recurrent and capital funding for the polytechnics and colleges over three years. Polytechnics and colleges will also benefit from a saving on their rates bill over three years of some £35 million and from tuition fee income at the level of £1,675 per student for every additional student enrolled beyond the Government's earlier plans.
After taking account of the shift of resources to higher tuition fees in respect of students allowed for in the Government's earlier plans, recurrent funding available to the PCFC in 1990-91 will be £1, 014 million. As envisaged in last year's plans, £7 million of this will be earmarked for further restructuring in 1990-91 and £22 million will be available for contingencies, including maintenance and repairs for buildings. The plans also allow for other commitments including the cost of the additional
institutions and courses to be transferred to the PCFC sector from April 1990.
The plans should enable polytechnics and colleges to maintain financial viability as student numbers increase, and also to reach satisfactory pay settlements with their staffs. The Government intend, however, to hold back £12 million from the provision for the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council to be released only in the event of satisfactory pay settlements for academic staff which incorporates measures designed to achieve further improvements in efficiency.
Capital funding for polytechnics and colleges has been increased by £60 million over three years mainly to meet priority building improvement needs.
In both sectors, the money available allows for costs associated with the move of the funding councils to Bristol. It also takes into account developments in teacher training, in particular the need to enhance school experience for relevant academic staff.
Student Support
Planned expenditure on student support takes account of the increased numbers of students projected in the table and of the higher fee level of £1,675 from the academic year 1990-91. After allowing for the switch of funds to fees, total provision for student maintenance and the cost of fees in 1990-91 is £1,210 million. The details of the new rates of award and revised contribution scales will be announced in due course.
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The Government's spending plans also include £109 million in 1990-91, £179 million in 1991-92 and £204 million in 1992-93 for the introduction of the top-up loans scheme from September 1990, subject to the passage of the necessary legislation. Provision for the administration costs of the loans scheme will be added when final figures are available. The loan rates will be as set out in the White Paper "Top-up Loans for Students" (Cm. 520).The plans include, in addition, provision for the access funds for students in further and higher education, including postgraduate students : £5.6 million and £3.5 million will be made available to the Universities Funding Council and Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council respectively to distribute to institutions within their sectors ; £4.1 million will be made available to colleges of further education, and to institutions receiving grant from the Department.
Science
The science budget will increase by £178 million over the next three years, compared with previous plans. This reflects the importance which the Government continue to attach to funding basic and strategic science and follows the substantial additional sums made available last year.
The cash limit for the science budget will be £897 milion in 1990-91, with provision of £912 million in 1991-92 and £935 million in 1992-93--increases over previous plans of £61 million and £58 million and £59 million respectively. At £897 million the science budget in 1990-91 is £189 million higher than expenditure in 1988-89-- an increase of 27 per cent. over two years.
I am inviting the Advisory Board for the Research Councils (the ABRC) to provide me with its advice on the distribution of the resources which the Government are making available, and how they can best be spent to further the Government's aims for civil science in the interests of the nation as a whole.
Within the totals available I am providing an additional £8.7 million in 1990-91 to sustain scientific research programmes while meeting the construction costs of the Antarctic research and logistics vessel RRS James Clark Ross, and a further £8.5 million to meet the slippage in expenditure on that ship between 1989-90 and 1990-91. The James Clark Ross, which is due to be launched in December 1990, will play a key role in support of environmental research programmes in the Antarctic.
The Government also intend to put the British Geological Survey on a sound long-term footing through a once-for-all investment in the national geological information service. I am providing a total of £6 million over the three years 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93 to stimulate the generation of outside income which can be reinvested in core surveying activity.
We have also undertaken to provide a minimum allocation of £2 million in each year for a remote sensing instrument associated with the proposed earth remote sensing satellite (ERS-2) which is planned to be launched in 1993 by the European Space Agency. I shall be seeking the ABRC's advice on what further allocation is appropriate for earth observation instruments, particularly on polar platforms. City Technology Colleges and grant- maintained schools
The Department's plans allow for the addition of £28 million over the next three years to secure progress towards the target of 20 city technology colleges. Our plans also allow for expenditure on grant- maintained
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schools. The great bulk of this is funded by transfer from local authority current expenditure, but the Department pays grant for transitional, capital and some other costs.Local Authority and Voluntary Aided School Capital Expenditure In 1990-91 annual capital guidelines for local authority capital expenditure on schools and colleges in England will total £485 million ; the capital allocations total was £352 million for schools and colleges in 1989- 90. Building grants to voluntary aided and grant-maintained schools will total £118 million, an increase of £30 million over the corresponding vote provision in 1989-90. This extra provision will allow continued progress on improvement programmes in the schools, including building work associated with the introduction of the national curriculum, together with additional investment in further education colleges. Local authorities will also be able to finance capital expenditure from capital receipts and other sources : the actual level of total expenditure is for local authorities to determine in the light of local policies and their assessed requirements.
Further and Higher Education
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information he has on the level and type of provision of facilities for visually impaired students at each higher education and further education college in Wales.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. Friend's responsibilities extend only to the university of Wales, for which no information on this is held centrally by the Department.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the gross national product was spent on higher education for each year for which figures are available since 1979 ; and what information he has on the corresponding figures for Australia, Canada, France, West Germany, Japan and the United States of America.
Mr. Jackson : The available information is shown in the table. Corresponding data for earlier years are not readily available.
Public recurrent expenditure<1> on higher education 1986
|As Percentage of GNP
---------------------------------------------------------------
Australia |1.6
Canada |2.0
France |0.7
West Germany |0.9
Japan |0.5
United Kingdom<2> |0.9
USA<3> |0.8/0.9
Source: UNESCO Statistical Yearbook.
<1> The data includes apportionment of expenditure described
as unallocated which can be significant.
<2> Excludes expenditure on nursing and paramedical students
on courses at Department of Health establishments, and the
salaries of in-service teacher training secondments.
<3> Lower figure based on exclusion of 2-year courses from
higher education.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of young people between (a) the ages of 16 and 18 and (b) the ages of 19 and 22 years, were in full-time education in the latest year
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for which figures are available ; and what information he has on the corresponding figures for Australia, Canada, France, West Germany, Japan and the United States of America.Mr. Jackson : The following information is readily available. Figures for combined full-time and part-time participation, and for higher education participation at all
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ages on the OECD definition, are also given to provide a fuller picture. Further comparisons of 16 to 18-year-olds will appear in a statistics bulletin, which will be published shortly. Figures for 19 to 22-year-olds in other countries tend to be inflated by longer duration of courses and higher drop-out rates. For example, university courses in the United Kingdom typically last three years compared with four or more years elsewhere.Column 277
Proportion in education, academic year 1985-86
Per cent.
Ages 16-18 Ages 19-22
Country education and education
training<1>
|full-time |full-time and part-time|full-time |full-time and part-time
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia |50 |66 |<2> |<2>
Canada<3> |75 |75 |27 |29
France |66 |74 |24 |<4>24
West Germany |<5>47 |<5>90 |19 |36
Japan |77 |79 |<6> |<6>
United Kingdom<7> |33 |69 |<8>8 |<8>23
|(35) |(73) |(8) |(23)
USA<9> |79 |80 |30 |34
<1> Including apprenticeships, YTS and similar schemes.
<2> Not available.
<3> Excluding part-time students at Community Colleges, for whom age detail is not available.
<4> Part-time participation is negligible.
<5> Academic year 1986-87. Includes compulsory part-time education for 16 and 17-year-olds.
<6> Age detail for students aged over 18 is not readily available.
<7> Figures in brackets are for academic year 1987-88. Including nursing and paramedical students at DH establishments, and for 16-18s,
estimates for public sector evening study and for private sector further and higher education, including training courses with employers.
Includes adult education at LEA establishments.
<8> Based on ages 19-24.
<9> Including private sector higher education.
Participation in higher education 1985<1>
|New entrant rate<2>
------------------------------------------------------------
Australia |39
Canada |. .
France |32
West Germany |<3>29
Japan<4><5> |36/49
United Kingdom |34
USA<4><6><7> |30/61
<1> Australia 1984, Germany and United Kingdom 1987, USA
and Japan 1986.
<2> OECD define new entrants to higher education as
excluding postgraduates and those already qualified in
higher education irrespective of age. The denominator is
the age-group of the population including 70 per cent. of
new entrants, divided by the number of years involved.
<3> Partly estimated.
<4> Including a significant private sector element.
<5> Figures presented as range. The higher figure adds
students in advanced senshus, some of whom may be
equivalent to level 5, to the official rate.
<6> The lower figure is the result of removing students on
two year courses (some of which may be below higher
education level) from the official rate.
<7> First year students.
Sources:
OECD Education in OECD countries-comparative statistics
1985-86.
Correspondence with individual countries.
Column 278
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Televising of Proceedings
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will ensure that live television pictures of parliamentary proceedings will be made available on equal terms as to cost to all cable television franchises in the United Kingdom.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : The report of the Select Committee on Televising of Proceedings of the House, which the House has approved as the basis for the televising experiment, provides for all broadcasting organisations to have access to the signal, subject to the approval of the Committee in the case of those other than the BBC, ITN and other contractors within the jurisdiction of the IBA. The report states that the Committee's approval should be withheld "only in exceptional circumstances". The cost at which the signal is supplied to cable operators is a matter in the first instance for negotiation between them and House of Commons Broadcasting Unit Ltd. The Select Committee emphasised in its report, however, that it expected the cost of the experiment
"to be shared equally amongst the broadcasting organisations". The report also made it clear that, in the event of a complaint of alleged discrimination against one particular customer, or category of customers, in the price charged for the signal, the Committee would consider appointing an arbitrator who would have full access to information about the unit's costs. I should stress that the Committee sees this possibility very much as a final resort, to be invoked only in those rare cases where agreement cannot
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be reached between House of Commons Broadcasting Unit Ltd and an individual customer or group of customers for the signal. The Select Committee will, of course, exercise a general oversight over the arrangements for supplying and distributing the signal as part of its responsibility for monitoring the progress of the experiment, with a view to reporting to the House on its outcome in due course.EMPLOYMENT
Disablement Assistance
Mr. Litherland : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will announce the date of the publication of the Government's internal review of employment assistance to disabled adults.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Lloyd) on 13 November 1989 at column 58.
Earnings
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing for the average, median, quartile and decile full-time adult male manual and non-manual workers the percentage increase in real earnings, including overtime, between April 1979 and April 1989 together with the increase in the real value of sterling against the deutschmark, the dollar and the yen between the fourth quarter of 1976 and the first quarter of 1979 and between that quarter and the second quarter of 1988.
Mr. Nicholls : The increases in real earnings are provided in the table :
Full-time adult males in Great Britain
Percentage increase
|Manuals |Non-manuals|All
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lowest decile |4 |17 |10
Lower quartile |8 |26 |14
Median |11 |33 |21
Higher quartile |14 |37 |29
Highest decile |17 |46 |38
Average earnings |13 |38 |28
Notes:
The increases shown do not relate to the same individuals at the
different dates.
Source: New Earnings Survey data deflated by the RPI (all
items).
There is no single definition of real exchange rates and bilateral real exchange rates are not published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nor by OECD. Data on bilateral nominal exchange rates and various price indices for the relevant countries are published by the IMF in "International Financial Statistics".
Skills Training Agency
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his reply of 31 October, Official Report, column 172 , with reference to the Skills Training Agency, if he will place in the Library a copy of the information memorandum about the Skills Training Agency.
Mr. Nicholls : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Durham, North-West (Ms.
Column 280
Armstrong) on 31 October, Official Report column 172 . The information memorandum has been issued to potential bidders who have signed a confidentiality undertaking.STA staff and unions have been sent an STA bulletin about the memorandum. A copy of the bulletin will be placed in the Library.
Agriculture Inspectors
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number and location of agricultural inspectors with responsibility for Wales in each year since 1975.
Mr. Nicholls : The number and location of agricultural inspectors in post in HSE's area and local offices in Wales is as follows :
|Cardiff |Wrexham |Carmarthen|Total
------------------------------------------------------------------
1 April
1977<1> |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |17
1978 |- |- |- |17
1979 |- |- |- |19
1980 |- |- |- |19
1981 |- |- |- |16
1982 |- |- |- |15
1983 |- |- |- |13
1984 |- |- |- |13
1985 |3 |6 |5 |14
1986 |3 |6 |5 |14
1987 |5 |5 |4 |14
1988 |4 |5 |3 |12
1989 |5 |4 |3 |12
1 November
1989 |6 |4 |3 |13
<1> Agricultural inspectors joined HSE from MAFF from March 1976;
the full field force was in place in March 1977.
<2> Information about the location of inspectors in Wales is not
available for 1977-1984.
The figures do not include inspectors in the inspectorate's HQ, or elsewhere in HSE, engaged on line management work or contributing to policy or technical work.
Factory Inspectors
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number and location of factory inspectors with responsibility for Wales in each year since 1975.
Mr. Nicholls : The number and location of factory inspectors in post in HSE's area and local offices in Wales is as follows :
|Cardiff|Wrexham|Swansea|Total
---------------------------------------------------
1 April
1977<1> |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |31
1978 |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |31
1979 |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |32
1980 |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |33
1981 |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |31
1982 |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |29
1983 |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |23
1984 |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |23
1985 |15 |5 |3 |23
1986 |15 |5 |3 |23
1987 |16 |5 |3 |24
1988 |17.5 |6 |<3>- |23.5
1989 |18 |5 |<3>- |23
1 November
1989 |22 |6 |<3>- |28
<1> Separate figures for Wales are not available
until 1977.
<2> Information about the location of inspectors
in Wales is not available for 1977-84.
<3> The HSE office at Swansea was closed in July
1987.
The figures do not include inspectors in the inspectorate's HQ, or elsewhere in HSE, engaged on line management work or contributing to policy or technical work.
Statistics
Mr. Fisher : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether his Department has discontinued (a) the collection or (b) the publication of any statistics since 1979.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 14 November 1989] : There has been no discontinuation of any of the statistics collected or published by the Department of Employment since 1986 other than where changes have occurred in the administrative systems from which some statistics are derived. The few minor discontinuations between 1979 and 1986 were described on 10 December 1986, Official Report, columns 221-24 by the then Paymaster General in his reply to the then hon. Member for Oldham, East.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Cross Media Ownership
Mr. Woodcock : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what is the outcome of the investigation by the Office of Fair Trading into cross media ownership ; what action he intends to take ; and if he will make a statement ;
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(2) when the Director General of Fair Trading is going to announce the conclusion of his investigation into cross media ownership.Mr. Douglas Hogg : I understand that the Director General of Fair Trading is still considering competition questions relating to cross media ownership. We are also looking at wider aspects of this issue.
Angola
Mr. Robert B. Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on the opportunities for British firms wishing to export to Angola and the measures his Department has taken to encourage such trade.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : A wide range of services is available to companies under my Department's export initiative. ECGD has short-term cover available for Angola and supports a line of credit for the Takula offshore oilfield development. Opportunities have, however, been limited by Angola's poor economic and security conditions. When peace is restored and plans for economic rehabilitation are fully implemented, there should be increased opportunities for trade.
Companies Act Inspections
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list each continuing Companies Act inspection, giving in each case (a) the name of the company under investigation, (b) the names of the inspectors, (c) the date of their appointment and (d) the cost of the inspection to date.
Mr. Forth : The following list provides the information requested.
Column 281
Company name |Names of inspectors|Date of appointment|Cost £
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minet Holdings plc |S C Boyd QC |8 November 1982 |1,242,964
W M D Underwriting Agencies Ltd |P W G DuBuisson FCA|10 November 1982
Graylaw Holdings Ltd |Miss E Appleby QC |11 March 1983 |280,212
Link Services Stations Ltd |P W Foss FCA
Bank Street Securities Ltd |Miss E Appleby QC |4 October 1983 |481,229
Pennine Commercial Holdings plc |P W Foss FCA
Guinness plc |D T Donaldson QC |28 November 1986 |1,657,698
|I G Watt FCA
Langford Scott and Partners
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total amount of compensation paid to investors by his Department following the investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration of the renewing of the licence under the Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act 1958 of Langford Scott and Partners ; how many investors were compensated ; why his Department thought it appropriate to pay compensation ; and whether the compensation paid extended to loss of interest and stress as well as loss of the principal sum invested.
Mr. Forth : My Department paid a total of £51,415 in compensation to 13 investors in Langford Scott and Partners. The payment was ex gratia and without acceptance of liability. The compensation paid covered the principal sum invested and loss of interest.
Column 282
House of Fraser
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the progress of investigations into the purchase of the House of Fraser.
Mr. Forth : No. This is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General.
EC (Economies of Scale)
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish in the Official Report an assessment of the industries in which the United Kingdom enjoys the greatest economies of scale within the EEC.
Mr. Forth : The information is not available.
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